Company Secretary Courses

The profile of a company secretary is both prestigious and lucrative. It comes with a lot of responsibilities which if handled carefully will provide you with more prestigious opportunities. The position of a company secretary should not be mistaken for that of a secretary or clerk. A company secretary has a pivotal role in an organisation they are a part of. They form the core part of an organisation and deal with and handle the complex functioning of the organisation. They are the mediators of the company’s financial, legal, economical status and the directors or the owners of the company. Read on further to learn more about the various courses available in company secretaryship.

Courses In Company Secretary

Course Details

Eligibility

Company secretary courses are mainly offered by the ‘Institute of Company Secretaries’ of the respective countries. The ICS provides course in three stages, ‘the foundation course’, ‘the intermediate course’, and the ‘final course’. The candidate needs to qualify through all these stages in order to stand eligible to get secretarial training. The minimum qualification required to enrol for the foundation course is the successful completion of higher secondary school, preferably with commerce subjects. There is a bachelor’s and master’s degree course in corporate secretaryship also provided by the ICS and few other institutions. Candidates opting for a bachelor’s or a master’s program need not go through the foundation and intermediate courses and can directly sit for the final course and then the training program.

Details Of The Course Curriculum

Foundation Course

The foundation course in order to become a secretary offered by ICS covers the following 4 course of study:

Business Communication

Business Laws and Management

Principles of Accountancy

Economics and Statistics

Intermediate Course

Candidates who have successfully completed the foundation course or a graduation degree stand eligible for the intermediate course. It is a 9 months course offering the following subjects:

Management

Industrial laws

Tax laws and procedures

Cost and management accounting economic and other legislation

Company law and practice

Theory and practice of company accounts

Final Course

Candidates holding a graduation degree in corporate secretaryship, M.com or an MBA are exempted from the papers of the intermediate level, and can directly take up the following papers of the final level:

Financial Management

Management control and Information

Corporate tax management - direct and indirect

Secretarial and Management audit

Corporate law and practice

Company Secretary Training

After the successful clearance of all the four stages of the course, the candidates need to undergo a training period of 4 months or so in a reputed organisation. Once the candidates cross the training period, they can become the associate members of the institute. They are entitled to use the descriptive letters “ACS” after their names which will prove that they are now the associate members of the institute. After 5-6 years of service the candidate can also get enrolled as a fellow member and can use the descriptive letters “FCS” after his or her name. The fellowship will help in improving the career prospects of the candidate and will also make them eligible to take up a doctorate degree.

Bachelor Of Corporate SecretaryThere are many institutions providing bachelors degree program. The objective of the program is to uplift and upgrade the knowledge of the students. The course aims at providing the required skills to the candidates required to complete the ACS course offered by the ICS. The course encourages and imparts the relevant training and knowledge to the students who are willing to take up the ACS course.

Masters Of Corporate SecretaryThe master’s program offered by global organizations concentrates mainly on the following subjects of study:

Strategic management perspectives

Accounting framework and audit practice

Corporate regulatory framework

Comparative corporate governance

Comparative social responsibility

Corporate finance

Case studies and practitioner perspectives

Financial strategy

Skills RequiredIn order to grasp the best of opportunities in the field of work, a candidate pursuing a career in secretaryship needs to be dedicated towards the course and should have a good command over written and spoken language. The individual should possess a ethical character. They should be far-sighted enough to understand the company’s policies and strategies. An intellectual, elegant, loyal and meticulous personality is what is needed for a secretary post in any organization.

Career ProspectsWith constant development and growth in the number of corporate firms and with globalization at its best, there are many opportunities for young aspirants. Numerous organizations from diverse fields have emerged in the world market. There is a lot of complexity involved in the successful functioning of an organisation. In order to handle these complex functioning’s and maintenance of the organization, skilled and knowledgeable professionals are required. It is here that the company secretary stands important in an organisation. A company secretary can be hired by various financial institutions, stock exchanges, government bank agencies, and many other such governmental and non-governmental departments. They can provide sound and appropriate corporate, legal, secretarial, administrative and tax related advice which will prove to be beneficial for the organisation. These functions as a rescuer make the company secretary quite popular and demanding.